Writing a Sports Feature

1. Writing a Sports Feature Make your reader know someone or something. Don’t tell - SHOW

2. Be Descriptive above all else • Make it humorous or moving – see the leads for the football player’s wife w/cancer • Recall a specific line or story related to your topic – it can involve a person, but it must be related to your topic – rivalry, women’s sports, etc. • If your topic involves action, use action verbs (see your list) • Always identify students by position on team and grade • Surrounded by treadmills, tons of weights and teammates, senior lacrosse forward Steven Baker’s deltoid muscle screams to be relieved, but this focused team captain knows the power of a well-prepared strong arm holding that netted stick on the field. Lead

3. Tell the story through the eyes of your interview – a person who would experience what you are writing about.- be descriptive • Back it up with a quote to support it…not one that repeats what you’ve already written. • Baker’s experiences in the weight room are not unusual; most serious athletes know the importance of toning specific muscles to be a force on the playing field. • “I try to pump iron at least six days a week,” he said. “I have to be stronger than the other guy so I can sling that ball.” The body

4. Insert a description of a setting – create a picture in the reader’s mind – put them in the middle of the action, the life of a person. • While Baker’s arms strain under the big arm machine, other athletes concentrate on building brute force in other sport-specific muscles. • This sour stench of sweat-drenched shirts and the shout of spotters counting and encouraging “one more” while athletes grit their teeth and groan straining under pounds of metal is what separates the participant from the true competitor. Details

5. Interrupt the story telling with a little history • Weight lifting began in the 18th century as a way for the Spartans to build endurance for their long battles against Roman warriors. • The battle-weary Spartans required strength and tenacity if they were going to fight to keep their lands over the power-hungry Roman soldiers, so they began to repeatedly lift tree trunks tied to ropes until their bodies could do no more. • Over time, the Spartans’ reputation as unyielding powerhouses grew to near mythological proportions Background - research

6. Surrounded by treadmills, tons of weights and teammates, senior lacrosse forward Steven Baker’s deltoid muscle screams to be relieved, but this focused team captain knows the power of a well-prepared strong arm holding that netted stick on the field. Baker’s experiences in the weight room are not unusual; most serious athletes know the importance of toning specific muscles to be a force on the playing field. “I try to pump iron at least six days a week,” he said. “I have to be stronger than the other guy so I can sling that ball.” While Baker’s arms strain under the big arm machine, other athletes concentrate on building brute force in other sport-specific muscles. This sour stench of sweat-drenched shirts and the sound of spotters counting and encouraging “one more” while athletes grit their teeth and groan straining under pounds of metal is what separates the participant from the true competitor. Weight lifting began in the 18th century as a way for the Spartans to build endurance for their long battles against Roman warriors. The battle weary Spartans required strength and tenacity if they were going to fight for their lands over the power-hungry Roman soldiers, so they began to repeatedly lift tree trunks tied to ropes until their bodies could do no more. Over time, the Spartans’ reputation as unyielding powerhouses grew to near mythological proportions

7. Finish the story in this order and keep related material together. These below may include more than one or two sentences. • Tell more about the topic – get some statistics, facts from sites of authority • Include a professional quote – authority on the topic • Explain more about the topic • Associate information with a student quote – probably go back to the student initially introduced or a student you quoted in the middle of the story. • You could probably wrap it up with a solid quote that sums up the topic and focus. With a 60 percent completion rate, Baker’s weight training is taking him places. “I plan on attending a D-1 school, so I have to better than everyone else, and strength is how I do it.” Parts to a whole

8. NEVER be a cheerleader for your teams on the sports pages. Don't write about "our" team, write about "the" team. • NEVER congratulate a team or an athlete in your sports stories. • NEVER end a story like this: "The Fighting Indians will undoubtedly be the class of conference and will achieve anything they set out to do. Let’s NOT do this